You hear a lot of people talk about how it is almost never a good idea to buy a new car. They support buying used cars because new ones drop so much in value as soon as you drive them off of the lot. They say that buying a used car makes more sense because that value has already been lost, so you just have to pay what the car is worth. To some degree, this does make sense, but buying a new car can also be a good idea when you look at the big picture.
Start by considering how you can save on a new car. You do not necessarily have to pay the price that the dealer is trying to get for the vehicle. Look at a site that tells you about the sales numbers for that car. It will show you what someone else in your area paid for the type of car that you want. You can even add in different options – like leather seats or a heated steering wheel – so that it is exactly what you want. When you see what someone else paid, you might notice that it is $2,000 less than what the dealer is asking. By taking that information to the dealer, you can have your price lowered. Check out the TrueCar Linkedin profile, for example, if you want to learn more.
Another thing that you can learn from this site is how people got to that price. Did they get incentives from the dealer – such as $500 cash back – that you did not know were being offered? Did they get a better base price and the same incentives that you can get? When you understand how the price was created, it is easier to see if you can get it or not. You can also then talk to the dealer about the price and make sure that he does not refuse to give you any promotions that you should be able to get.
At the end of the day, doing this can help reduce the amount that the car’s value drops by when you drive it off of the lot. It will hold its value much better than it would otherwise, so it is a better buy for you. If a new car would hold its value as well as a used car, which one would you choose? As you can see, the choice is not hard to make.
Another thing to consider with a new car is the fact that it should not break down. With a used car, you never know exactly what you are going to get. It may cost less to start, but what if you then have to pour more money into it just to keep it running? Your new car will not have all of these extra expenses. If you do have a problem, it should be under warranty, so the dealership will take it back and fix it for free.
This is not to say that a new car is always a better option, but it is certainly not as bad as some people make it out to be. If you do your research and use the tools that you have available to you, it could be the way to go.
